Is it normal to have a seizure when you pass out

Syncope is defined as having the following features: Usually preceded by symptoms such as dizziness. An abrupt loss of consciousness for a brief amount of time Spontaneous recovery Syncope is commonly mistaken for seizures. Orthostatic : characterized by abrupt drop in blood pressure. Medications for high blood pressure, depression, and psychiatric disorders can also cause this.

Cardiogenic : most concerning type of syncope originating from the heart. Examples include: irregular heart rhythms too slow, pauses, blocks and mechanical obstruction aortic stenosis, enlarged heart, blood clot. Read More Blogs. Request A Callback.

Insurance Provider. Where is pain located? Take The First Step Today. Call: Schedule An Appointment. Other times, it will require more testing. Young adults with symptoms indicating vasovagal syncope often are not hospitalized. However, patients ages 50 and older in the United States often are admitted for testing, because the serious causes of fainting become more common in older people.

Despite hospitalization and testing, sometimes the cause of fainting is never determined. The bottom line is that you need medical evaluation if you faint—or if you feel repeatedly as if you are about to faint.

Note carefully any symptoms you remember before or after you pass out. Ask anyone who may have seen you faint describe to you what they saw. All of this information will help the doctor help you. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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Preventing preeclampsia may be as simple as taking an aspirin. Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. A conversation about reducing the harms of social media. Menopause and memory: Know the facts. Most fainting is triggered by the vagus nerve. When food enters the system, the vagus nerve directs blood to the stomach and intestines, pulling it from other body tissues, including the brain.

Unfortunately, the vagus nerve can get a little too excited and pull too much blood from the brain. Some things make it work harder, such as bearing down to have a bowel movement or vomiting. Medical conditions that drop blood pressure amplify the effects of the vagus nerve—even extreme pain from menstrual cramps. Too little water in the bloodstream lowers blood pressure, and stimulating the vagus nerve when the system is already low can lead to dizziness and fainting.

There are many causes of dehydration—vomiting or diarrhea , heat exhaustion , burns, and more. Vomiting and diarrhea, specifically, also stimulate the vagus nerve.

Not all losses of consciousness are related to the vagus nerve. Shock is a condition characterized by low blood pressure that often leads to a loss of consciousness. As a society, we are very aware of the long-term consequences of high blood pressure , but very low blood pressure is much more immediately dangerous. Shock is a life-threatening emergency that usually comes from bleeding, but can also come from severe allergy anaphylaxis or severe infection.

People with shock will most likely become confused, then lose consciousness as their condition gets worse. It can all happen very quickly, and although it's not fainting, per se, we can't really tell unless the patient wakes up. Taking a wait-and-see attitude may be dangerous. Plenty of people lose consciousness due to alcohol use, and we don't call it fainting although passing out still seems appropriate. Besides its obvious sedation effect, alcohol makes you urinate, which will eventually lead to dehydration.

It also dilates blood vessels, which decreases blood pressure. Like shock, losing consciousness due to alcohol is not technically considered fainting, but it may or may not be cause for concern. It is possible to die from alcohol poisoning , and passing out is a sign of serious intoxication. Other drugs—legal as well as illegal—can knock you out for a variety of reasons:. Your heart is the pump that forces blood through your veins and arteries. It takes a certain amount of pressure in the bloodstream to keep it flowing.

A correctly functioning heart is essential to maintaining adequate blood pressure. If the heart beats too fast or too slow, it can't keep the blood pressure up as high as it needs to be.

Blood drains from the brain and leads to fainting. During a heart attack , the heart muscle can become too weak to maintain blood pressure. To decide if the heart may be the culprit, take a pulse. If it's too fast more than beats per minute or too slow less than 50 beats per minute , suspect that the heart caused the fainting spell. Also, if the patient is complaining of chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack , assume the heart is too weak to keep blood in the head.

Do you pass out when you see blood? Anxiety, panic disorder, and stress can stimulate the vagus nerve in some people and lead to a loss of consciousness.

The vagus nerve stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows down the pulse rate and lowers blood pressure. Some people are hypersensitive to the vagus nerve, and stimulation can result in loss of consciousness in these people. All by itself, fainting is not life-threatening. However, sudden cardiac arrest looks a lot like fainting and requires immediate treatment. Whenever you see someone pass out, make sure the person is breathing; if not, call and begin CPR. Once someone faints, get the patient comfortably lying flat.

You can elevate the legs to help blood flow return to the brain, but it is generally not necessary and there's some debate on whether it is effective. Treatment after that depends on the cause of fainting. If this is the first time this person has ever fainted—or if you don't know—call There are some dangerous conditions that can cause fainting and should be evaluated by medical professionals to determine how to proceed.

If the person has a history of fainting, watch the breathing and give them a couple of minutes to wake up. If the person doesn't wake up within three minutes of lying flat, call